Raising wolves

Zheng Yao didn't dare to make a sound.

Lu Qingze finally recovered from the shocking "Send Autumn Waves", and couldn't help but look at Zheng Yao more.

Commander Zheng is very famous in the original work.

In the original book, Zheng Yao is described as "a vicious dog under a tyrant." In the capital, children can be so frightened that they dare not cry in the middle of the night. The description is also very consistent, with a burly stature, a fierce face, a windy walk, and a sinister look.

How myopic is Ning Guoguo to see the autumn wave?

Lu Qing was very interested and didn't pay attention. The longer he looked at Zheng Yao with a smile, the colder Ning Juan's eyes became.

Under the enormous pressure, Zheng Yao slowly dripped a drop of cold sweat: "..."

Master Emperor, please don't look at me! !

Lu Qing watched for a while, and was still a little amused.

He was actually joking, it seemed that Ning Juan wasn't too angry.

He coughed lightly, put down his chopsticks, and calmly rescued Mr. Zheng who looked very distressed and uneasy: "Master Zheng came here specially, must there be something else?"

Zheng Yao is not a fool. The interrogation has not yet come to an end, so why did he come up to him and be scolded.

When Zheng Yao heard the words, he remembered what he was here for, and hurriedly said: "It's like this, I just saw a pair of sneaky young girls outside, claiming to know His Majesty and Master Lu. Your Majesty and the Grand Master came incognito, why? Will there be people I know? I feel suspicious and want to take them down, but I didn't expect that the young man is quite strong in martial arts, but he just can't speak..."

The more Lu Qing listened, the more wrong he felt: "What's the name of that little girl?"

"I claim to be Yu Liuyue."

Lu Qing said complicatedly: "We do know each other."

It was the girl who led the victims in the cave.

The one who is quite strong in martial arts but can't speak is probably a dumb boy with extraordinary skills outside Lingshan Temple.

Zheng Yao: "..."

Is he going to be scolded again?

Ning Juan frowned slightly: "Where's the person?"

"It's locked up...I'll let you go!" Zheng Yao scratched his head, "Your Majesty, do you want to bring people up?"

Ning Juan didn't rush to give a reply, first glanced at Lu Qingze, and tapped the table with his fingertips: "Are you hurt?"

If he was injured and covered in blood, he might not look good.

It's better not to put it in front of the teacher, it's better to provoke him.

Zheng Yao breathed a sigh of relief and felt fortunate: "That's not true. Before the fight started, the boy was stopped by Miss Yu and followed us obediently."

Ning Juan hummed, and slowly wiped the corners of his lips: "Bring it here."

The two of them had almost eaten, and their servants came to collect the plates.

Hearing that no one was injured, Lu Qing also calmed down. He habitually poured a cup of tea, held it in his hand, and blew the smoke, guessing Yu Liuyue's purpose.

Ning Juan suddenly glanced at him and smiled, "Teacher forgot again."

Lu Qing was puzzled: "What?"

Ning Juan picked up the silver mask on the side, looked at the overly eye-catching face, and said softly, "Don't let anyone else see the teacher's face."

Zheng Yao, Changshun, Chen Xiaodao.

Those who could look directly at Lu Qingze and those who could be looked back by him were already the limit of his tolerance.

The young emperor's voice was soft and smooth, as if he was just worried that his disfigurement would be faked, but Lu Qingze's heartbeat was cold and unpredictable.

But he didn't have time to explore, and his eyes were covered by a mask, and he couldn't see anything.

When his vision was restored, Ning Wan smiled softly and innocently in front of him, which seemed to be just an illusion just now.

Lu Qing touched the cold mask on his face and pressed the doubts in his heart.

After waiting for a while, Yu Liuyue and Lin Xi were brought up by Zheng Yao.

Seeing the seated He Ningyan and Lu Qingze, Yu Liuyue nimbly pulled Lin Xi down to his knees, and bowed neatly: "The girl Yu Liuyue, I have seen Your Majesty and Master Lu, she was at the edge of the cave before, the people The woman said nothing, and I still look to Your Majesty and Taifu Haihan."

Although Ning Juan was a bit preoccupied with Lu Qingze's affairs, he was always worried about these matters: "It's okay, get up."

Seeing Yu Liuyue, he was still a little hesitant, as if he was afraid that Ning Juan was just talking about it, but still blamed in his heart, Lu Qing said gently: "We came here to hide our identity, but also to see Jiangyou's public sentiment, don't worry. , Your Majesty is merciful and generous, and won't care. Didn't Mr. Zheng misunderstand you just now? It's an even deal, so there's no need to worry about it."

Lu Qingze's voice was clear and gentle, and there was a kind of bewitching sincerity in his ears.

Zheng Yao's eyebrows twitched, but he was not bewitched, but only felt a touch of melancholy.

Why didn't he experience His Majesty's generosity?

But he dared not say it.

After listening to Lu Qingze's words, Yu Liuyue just got up, and Lin Xi, who was behind her, shrank behind her again, a little embarrassed, as if she was afraid of too many people around, but he still remembered that Lu Qing could read Knowing his sign language, Chao Lu Qing showed a shy smile.

Lu Qing nodded kindly towards him.

Ning Juan sipped his tea expressionlessly.

Judging from the dusty appearance of the two of them, they must have arrived as soon as they heard the news of His Majesty's arrival. Lu Qing retracted his gaze and said, "Sit down, don't be restrained. My Majesty and I met outside the Lingshan Temple. Young Master Lin, I didn't expect you two to know each other."

Ning Juan glanced at the attendant below, and quickly brought chairs for the two of them.

Lin Xi and Yu Liuyue sat down uncomfortably, and the girl nodded slightly: "Lin Xi is Minnu's younger brother."

Lu Qing smiled and asked, "Huh? Do you have one's father's surname and one's mother's surname?"

His tone was neither hurried nor slow, but it didn't give the impression of being contemptuous, on the contrary, it made people feel relaxed unconsciously. Facing him, Yu Liuyue became less nervous before he knew it, and after a little hesitation , said cheerfully: "Lin Xi is an orphan that Minnv's father picked up when he was walking a dart, but after so many years, he is no different from Minnv's younger brother."

Lu Qingze wanted to continue to inquire, but Ning Juan didn't have much patience to see Lu Qingze was wasting with irrelevant people, so he asked calmly, "I came here specially, do you have something to ask for?"

When he was in the cave before, Yu Liuyue was a little afraid of Ninglan, and subconsciously felt that this young man was very dangerous.

But she is the leader of the disaster victims. Even if she is afraid, she must be strong and not show her timidity. Now she knows Ning Juan's identity... You Qi had scolded him in front of Ning Juan, and she felt a little embarrassed and embarrassed when she met him: "Yes I want to ask your Majesty two things."

Ning Juan said indifferently: "You two have done a good job in protecting the victims, let's talk about it."

Yu Liuyue pursed her lips and lowered her voice: "The disease first appeared in Ji'an Mansion. After the outbreak, the government came to arrest people. We and my mother accidentally got lost. After that, we inquired everywhere, and finally heard from the villagers that my mother She was taken to Lingshan Temple. Minnu stayed to take care of other villagers, and Lin Xi went to Lingshan Temple, but because there were too many people, she could not be found... I heard that His Majesty is now counting the roster of disaster victims, can someone help check it? check?"

It's not a big deal, Ning Juan nodded to Zheng Yao and said, "The statistical roster is also used to find relatives and friends for the people."

After a pause, his tone was indifferent: "But it may not be possible to find someone, you have to be prepared."

During the time when the victims were detained in Lingshan Temple, Pan Jingmin would send people every three days to take away the victims who were suspected of being infected and those who were confirmed to be infected.

Ning Juan actually guessed the fate of the victims, but still sent someone to torture the soldiers responsible for these things.

Just this morning, he received the whereabouts of the victims, but he didn't tell Lu Qingze.

Pan Jingmin ordered people to dig a deep pit at the foot of a mountain.

Those sick victims were deceived to take them there, saying that they were taking them to a diagnosis and treatment, but in fact they were driven into a pit like livestock, and after being shot to death by random arrows, they were set on fire.

Pan Jingmin was still afraid that the ashes of these patients would spread the disease, and every time such a cruel and inhumane practice was carried out, a thick layer of soil was covered.

When he went to check it in person in the morning, the broken bones in the deep pit had long been mixed with the soil, decaying silently, and he could no longer tell who was who.

Yu Liuyue's nose was sore and her eyes were hot. She knew it was possible, but she had always been lucky enough to not think about it. She bit her lip and said, "The girl knows."

Lu Qing sighed silently, his voice softer: "Is there one more thing?"

Yu Liuyue opened her mouth, her voice choked: "Also... Please help your Majesty to find the father of Minnu."

Ning tired brows slightly raised.

Why do you have to ask your mother first, and then ask him to help you find your father?

Seeing Yu Liuyue's choked sobbing uncontrollably, Lin Xi patted her shoulder lightly and motioned for him to speak quickly.

Lu Qing looked at it, his face became solemn, he pondered for a while, then nodded and said, "I will tell His Majesty in detail, you two brothers and sisters should go to rest first, and stay here for a while, and wait a minute. As a result, I will have someone notify you."

Lin Xi made another sign language: Thank you.

When the two finally followed Zheng Yao away, Ning Juan immediately restrained his cold face in front of outsiders, leaned to Lu Qingze's side, and drew Lu Qingze's attention back to himself: "Teacher, he just said that. what?"

Lu Qing recovered from his deep thoughts, turned his face to look at Ning Juan, and explained, "Yu Liuyue's father is named Yu Zheng, he is the head of Ji'an Prefecture, and he is highly skilled in martial arts. Lin Xi's martial arts came from him. It came from Xi, but Yu Zheng disappeared before Jiang You started to riot."

Ning Juan nodded obediently: "Teacher's face was very solemn, is there something wrong with Yu Zheng's disappearance?"

Lu Qing pondered: "Lin Xi said that a few days before Yu Zheng disappeared, his face was ugly when he returned home, and then he simply resigned from the government and took the whole family back to Yu's village. He disappeared soon after. After he disappeared, people often walked around his house at night, but before entering the door, he was beaten away by Lin Xi."

Ning Lian said: "It seems that I learned some secrets and got something, and I am afraid that it will lead to the death of the whole family."

"I want to come." Lu Qing took a sip of tea. "It's just that after the flood, Lin Xi and Yu Liuyue took their mother to escape from the village. They probably didn't have time to take away the things at home. Following that thing, they should be able to find clues."

Lu Qing thought about it seriously, and raised his eyes to look at Ning Juan: "Since we have already agreed, we will send someone to Yujiacun to look for that thing."

This is not urgent, at least until the flood recedes.

Hopefully things didn't get washed away.

Seeing Lu Qing's heart, Ning Juan naturally wouldn't refute his meaning: "I'll ask Zheng Yao to ask about Yu Zheng's physical features, and send someone to look around."

After speaking, he also felt dry mouth and wanted to drink some tea, but when he habitually stretched out his hand, he found that no one poured it for him.

The outside is no better than the Qianqing Palace, and Jiang You is still in this situation. Even the emperor's majesty, the treatment is not as good as before, not to mention that the people who are serving are not around.

Lu Qing saw that Ning Juan was obviously stunned for a moment, and he was amused. He personally picked up the tea cup, poured him a cup of hot tea, and pushed it with two fingers: "Tast it, Lushan Yunwu, the person who commanded Zheng's envoy last night. I dug it out from the treasury, but I didn’t expect that the tea in the Zhao prefect’s mansion is not worse than the imperial tea in the palace—speaking of which, I counted the warehouse lists reported by the prefectures last night and counted it.”

Ning Juan took the tea that Lu Qing had poured for him, and the trace of displeasure he had just produced disappeared: "How?"

"It's not very good. The floods submerged crops, and some cities were continuously rained due to heavy rain. Many of the grain reserves were turned out, only to find that the tide was moldy, and the number of victims was too large, and there were even many victims who were hiding. Jiang I'm afraid the surplus grain in the right houses won't last long." Lu Qing paused slightly, "Your Majesty, how do you plan to solve the food problem?"

Before going south to Jiang You in person, Lu Qingze and Ning Juan did not expect that this group of trash led by Pan Jingmin could turn the rich Jiang You into such a hustle.

Now that it is not easy to travel by land and water, and it is two thousand miles away, it is definitely too late to send Jiangyou's urgent report to the capital, and then choose the imperial envoy to go south for disaster relief, and the round trip will take nearly a month.

So before he came, Ning Juan arranged for people, and when the appointed time came, he pretended to be a disaster victim in advance, and spread out the floods and epidemics in Jiangyou, as well as the news of Wei Herong's private storage of emergency reports in the capital, causing Wei Herong to lose power to intervene in the matter.

When the obstacles became lighter, Mr. Feng Ge could push Fan Xingyan to be the imperial envoy, and the minister of the household secretly prepared disaster relief materials. At that time, Fan Xingyan could immediately lead the order and go to Jiangyou with the relief materials.

It's just that there are still a few days before the originally agreed time, and it will be half a month before Fan Xingyan arrives day and night.

"Teacher, don't worry, last night I sent an imperial order to Jiangsu and Zhejiang to put pressure on it," Ning Juan wrote lightly, "I am here, no matter how painful Li Xun is, he will not dare to cut a piece of meat. Chen Xiaodao will be able to bring food from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, so we can solve the urgent need first."

In this way, Jiang You can also support the disaster relief of the court.

So you didn't forget Changshun and Chen Xiaodao by the Daming Lake?

Lu Qing put his elbows against the table, his hands supported his chin, and smiled and tapped Ning Wan's forehead with his fingertips: "That's why you left Changshun and Xiaodao over there?"

That slender finger like a bamboo knot stretched out and brushed a faint plum fragrance, but he just clicked casually, but Ning Juan's heart seemed to be numb, and the excitement like an electric shock made him want to do something. , such as tightly grasping the slender white hand in front of him.

The fingertips hidden between the wide sleeves tightened and loosened. After repeated several times, Ning Lian suppressed the sudden urge and carefully exhaled.

He had forgotten since when, every time Lu Qingze approached, even a simple touch, it would make him nervous and greedy.

He couldn't help thinking that if it was Lu Qingze, even if he wanted to stab him with a knife, he would be reluctant to avoid it.

But how could Lu Qing treat him like that?

As soon as this idea came out, Ning Juan's eyes were stained with a bright smile, like a puppy wagging its tail for compliments: "Yeah!"

Lu Qing didn't know how the young man felt so happy all of a sudden, and inexplicably reached out and touched the child's forehead.

Are you not sick?

Putting down his hand, the boy's face seemed to turn a little red again.

Lu Qing was a little worried: "Did you cover your mouth and nose when you went to the resettlement center? Call the imperial doctor to show you later."

The transmission route of the epidemic has not yet been ascertained. Although the possibility of air transmission is relatively weak, otherwise all the people in Lingshan Temple would have been infected, but they still have to be careful.

Seeing that Lu Qing took the initiative to care about himself, Ning Jian didn't refuse, and nodded casually with a smile: "Okay."

Zheng Yao just came back to report the news, and when he saw His Majesty's splendid appearance in front of the Emperor, he felt sad again.

Obviously they surrendered at the same time, why...

Although Pan Jingmin still bit him to death, except for his poor water control, he had no other guilt, nor did he collude with the courtiers, but the good news came quickly.

The next day, Yu Liuyue found her mother among the victims.

A few days later, the flood outside Ji'an House receded slightly, and Yujia Village finally emerged from the flood and was able to see the sun again.

When the news came, Lu Qingze and Ning Juan happened to be returning from Hongdu Mansion, and before returning to the city, when they heard the news, they simply turned around and stopped by Yujia Village.

Jin Yiwei had already blocked off the neighborhood, and when they saw Ning Juan coming over, they all saluted.

The floods passed, the whole village was horrific, many houses had been washed away, the ground was a mess, and everything was there.

Zheng Yao did not dare to let Ning Juan and Lu Qingze go down: "Your Majesty and Lord Lu will wait here, Young Master Lin will take us there to find out."

Although Yu's mother was not infected, she also fell ill due to hunger and cold. Yu Liuyue took care of her mother in the official office, and Lin Xi came to lead the way.

When her sister was away, facing a group of strangers, Lin Xi was like a little rabbit waiting to be slaughtered, quietly shrugging her head, trying to reduce her presence.

He was also a young man of the same age as Ning Juan, but Lu Qing felt a little more pity and touched the child's head: "Don't be afraid, Master Zheng won't kill you."

Master Lu, don't touch it!

Zheng Yao glanced at Ninglan's face secretly, and he was sweating on Lin Xi's head. He was a martial artist, and he was very cherishing talent for a young man like Lin Xi, so he quickly coughed and coughed. Twice: "It will be bad if the flood returns, Young Master Lin, lead the way."

The only person Lin Xi was not afraid of was Lu Qingze. After being appeased by him, he was no longer so afraid. He nodded his head and walked towards the house with Zheng Yao and the others.

The flood in the distance still hadn't receded, and Lu Qingze and Ning Juan were waiting at the heights.

The fields below are in a mess, the roads cannot be distinguished, and the lost property and crops are innumerable. When the flood completely recedes, the people will have to work hard to rebuild their homes.

Wind Xixi, wrapped in the stuffy, watery and muddy smell, rolled up from a distance and lifted the robes of the two of them.

Lu Qing stood with his hands behind his back, and said softly, "Your Majesty, I used to talk to you about people's livelihood, all of which are in the book. This time I came to Jiangyou and saw all this with your own eyes. What do you think?"

Ning Lan said, "What was written in the book turned out to be only one or two of the eleven."

After a moment of silence, his voice was slightly deep: "Teacher, I want to be an emperor who can make the people live and work in peace and contentment, and make the world's seas and rivers clear."

He said "want", not "want".

The voice of the young emperor has the clarity and spirit of his age, but also mixed with a bit of mature composure, every word is like a stone.

Lu Qingze's heart warmed, and the corners of his lips curved: "Well, I believe you."

Ning Juan suddenly turned to look at him, his eyes slightly brightened: "Teacher will always be with me, right?"

Lu Qing raised his eyebrows and teased, "Your Majesty didn't think about all the birds and bows?"

Who knew that the sentence went on, it didn't play a joke, but made Ning Juan's face sink instantly: "Who said this to the teacher?"

Lu Qing was stunned, and quickly smoothed his hair: "No one, just kidding."

Ning Juan was really angry, stared at Lu Qingze angrily for a moment, but was reluctant to lose his temper at him, he swallowed his anger back through gritted teeth, waved his sleeves heavily, and refused to pay him any attention: "This kind of joke, Even a teacher can't open it at will! Don't talk nonsense again next time!"

Lu Qing was really stunned for three seconds.

Really pissed?

He never talked to Ning Juan about the rules. Occasionally, he slipped out of his mouth... But it was indeed his fault that he didn't care about Ning Juan's sensitive mind.

Just as he was about to apologize, Zheng Yao, who was looking for something over there, came back: "Your Majesty! I found something!"

There were too many eyes and it was difficult to speak, so Lu Qing had to swallow his words and look at what Zheng Yao brought back.

It was a small and medium-sized ceramic bottle, tightly corked with a stopper, and buried under the corner of the kitchen at home, so it was not washed away.

I don't know what is inside, Zheng Yao held the ceramic bottle and asked for advice: "Your Majesty, do you want to open it?"

Ning Juan glanced down at the bottle and nodded coldly.

Zheng Yao took the ceramic bottle back ten feet, stepped on the ceramic bottle under his feet, pulled out the long knife around his waist, and flicked the stopper.

Nothing flew out of it.

Zheng Yao straightened the bottle, looked down, his face suddenly became strange, leaned over and grabbed the bottle, stretched out his hand to take out the contents, walked quickly to Ning Yan, bent over and handed it: "Your Majesty please take a look."

Seeing the contents in the ceramic bottle, even Lu Qingze and Ning Juan were startled.

The thing that Yu Liuyue's father, Yu Zheng, hid, that led to his death.

It turned out to be an account book with a handwritten letter.

The two suddenly felt something was wrong.

Ning Juan opened the letter and glanced at it. His eyes deepened. He didn't rush to look again. He raised his head and asked, "Where's Zhao Zhengde, the prefect of Ji'an?"

"I'm still in prison," Zheng Yao said, "because of the lack of manpower, I've been putting all my energy on Pan Jingmin's family, and I haven't had time to try him."

There were too many people arrested, and a large number of people queuing up for trial were not yet Zhao Zhengde's turn.

Ning Juan nodded slightly and said no more: "Return to the official office."

After he finished speaking, he didn't pay any attention to Lu Qingze, and just turned around and got into the carriage.

Zheng Yao's mouth was involuntarily big, and his eyes almost dropped.

According to His Majesty's usual temper, shouldn't it be to personally help Lord Lu onto the carriage?

What's the matter, he just left for a while, and the sky has changed?

The young man in front of him had a mask on his face, so he couldn't see his expression, but the slightly pursed lips showed that he was not in a good mood either.

Huh, it's going to rain knives in the sky, isn't it, His Majesty and Lord Lu actually quarreled!

Zheng Yao couldn't hold back his curiosity, and while Ning Juan was walking away, he couldn't help asking, "Brother Lu, are you and Your Majesty?"

"..." Lu Qing rubbed his temples, "Don't ask, it's a bit of a mouthful. Your Majesty is in a fit of rage right now, and 80% don't want to see me, Brother Zheng, you can take me on a horse later."

He didn't expect the always obedient Ning Lian to be so angry.

Talking to him now, I'm afraid it will only make the situation worse.

Hearing this, Zheng Yao's resolute rough face turned pale: "How can it be done!"

He will be slaughtered!

Lu Qing thought about Ning Juan's dog temper: "Your Majesty probably won't take care of me until evening. You can't watch me go back, can you?"

Zheng Yao said complicatedly: "It's not that I refuse to take you, I mean, how could His Majesty make you suffer on horseback..."

Or ride with others.

His Majesty is angry, not crazy.

And when he saw Lu Qing, he made a mistake in judgment, and put His Majesty's standard on others on himself.

Can Lu Qing be the same? His Majesty treats others a set of rules, but for Lu Qing, even if Lu Qing doesn't coax him, he will be able to get rid of his anger quickly.

But these words are not easy to say. If they say it, they are talking about the emperor. Zheng Yao scratched his ears and scratched his cheeks. He turned his head and saw that Lu Qing was talking to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi was helping to dig the ground just now, but he didn't notice that there were mud marks on his face, but Lu Qing found it, took out the handkerchief and handed it to him: "Wipe it?"

Lin Xi took the veil and shyly said "thank you" to him.

Zheng Yao's scalp went numb, and he looked at the carriage subconsciously.

Sure enough, when the breeze was blowing and the curtains of the carriage were blown away, His Majesty's eyes looked over.

Those eyes stared at the handkerchief that Lu Qingze handed over, and there was a cold air in his eyes.

Zheng Yao: "..."

Commander Zheng felt that he had paid too much for his loyalty.

He grabbed a few strands of hair, coughed, and shouted angrily, "What? Master Lu, you want to ride a horse? But there aren't enough horses!"

Lu Qingze: "?"

Before he could figure out what Zheng Yao was up to, Ning Juan jumped off the carriage neatly, strode Meteor angrily, and ordered, "Lu Huaixue, come here!"